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Technology Integration: Problem-Based Learning Plan Assignment Instructions

Overview

The goal of this assignment is to create a learning/lesson plan for a single 50-60 minute learning session where technology is integrated in ways that will help your learners gain decision making and problem-solving skills, demonstrate increased creativity, and form stronger social connections with peers.

You will use a Problem-Based Learning approach to design the learning plan for a specific audience of learners.  The ASSURE model for instructional planning, the Technology Integration Matrix, and the ISTE standards for students each provide valuable frameworks to help you define a well-conceived technology integrated learning plan.

Instructions

The ASSURE model (Smaldino, Lowther, & Russell, 2008) encourages a purposeful look at and selection of appropriate technologies to foster student engagement. The first step in using ASSURE is to understand your learners. Assess the learner’s knowledge, skills, and dispositions before planning the instruction so that you target the areas of most need and design activities that will most likely engage and motivate them to learn. It is critical that you recognize where the learners are before the instruction even begins.  This front end planning will go a long way to ensure success. The instructional decisions you make are opportunities for making a difference in people’s lives, both now and in the future.

The A in ASSURE stands for Analyze Learners.

Describe your learner and their characteristics such as learning styles, prior knowledge, skill level, and attitudes towards learning. For instance, some learners are very hesitant in learning math skills but are excellent writers.

The S stands for State the Standards and Objectives.

You will select 1–2 curriculum standards for the lesson. Then select 1–2 ISTE standards for students from the ISTE Standards for Students link in the Technology Integration: Problem-Based Learning Plan Assignment page.  Use these standards to determine 2 -3 associated specific and measurable learning objectives for the lesson.

The second S stands for Select Strategies, Technology, Media, and Materials.

Digital technologies can facilitate students and teachers in the collaboration process.  Great thinking and lesson planning include instructional strategies that incorporate the highest level of technology integration for student engagement. To help you evaluate and plan for the integration of technology in the lesson you will use the Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) framework where you will compare the level of integration and engagement typically experienced during instruction and learning experiences with those presented in the TIM. The Technology Integration Matrix link is provided in the Technology Integration: Problem-Based Learning Plan Assignment page. You will select one of the 5 interdependent characteristics of meaningful learning environments to structure your learning activities and design a vibrant technology integration plan for your target learners: active, collaborative, constructive, authentic, and goal-directed. Your goal in designing the lesson and use of technology is to move as far to the right on the meaningful engagement scale as possible.  Push past the Entry and Adoption to Adaptation, Infusion, or Transformation.  This is not easy to do and the TIM provides examples in video form to help you.  For instance, if you click on the Active Learning under the Infusion level you will find several videos that model this level of use with active learning taking place.

The U stands for Utilize Technology, Media, and Materials.

Once you have assessed what technology tools you have available for use and observed some exciting ways these tools might be best utilized to promote learning, describe what you actually will use and how the tools will be used. You want your learners to collaborate in examining the important issues and identifying solutions to the problem.  You also want them to leverage technology to help co-construct solutions. Jonassen (1996) refers to technology tools as “intellectual partners” (p. 9) that aid learners as they seek to expand their thinking and understanding.

The R stands for Require Learner Participation.

This is where you plan the learner’s actions.  How will you plan for your learners to engage with the ideas and with the technology tools in order to meet the learning goals and objectives? Good questioning is an important aspect of formative assessment. Include your questioning strategies and questions for introducing the problem and lesson, processing the problem, designing solutions, ensuring understanding, and final checkpoints.

The E stands for Evaluate and Revise.

The final section is where you will describe the methods you will use to assess the learning.  Then describe how the resulting data might be used to revise the instruction plan for next time. 

Focus on the integration of technology. Think in terms of the types of questions an instructional coach might ask after observing the actual instruction that you have planned such as:

·      Did the lesson accomplish what you intended? 

·      Were the objectives met?

·      Would different tools have done a better job of facilitating the problem-based learning approach? 

·      Did anything surprise you? 

·      What would you do differently next time?

·      What score would the selected technologies have according to the Triple E Framework?  See the provided link for the Triple E Evaluation Rubric in the Technology Integration: Problem-Based Learning Plan Assignment page.

Download the Technology Integration and Problem-Based Learning Plan Template.  Open the template and review each section of the template.  The template requires you to complete the following sections:

o   Introduction to Problem-Based Learning (PBL)

o   Technology Integration

o   The ASSURE Model for Instructional Design

o   Analysis of Learners

o   Analysis of Technology in the Local Setting

o   Standards and Objectives

o   Strategies, Technology, Media, and Materials

o   Require Learner Participation

o   Evaluate and Revise

Save your file with the following naming convention: Last-First initial-Tech and PBL-73

References:

Jonassen, D. H. (1996). Computers in the classroom: Mindtools for critical thinking. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Smaldino, S. E., Lowther, D. L., & Russell, J. D. (2008). Instructional technology and media for learning (9th Ed.)  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall